Mop

ABSTRACT

A mop has an elongated shaft and a mop head. The elongated shaft has a top end and a bottom end. The bottom end has a rolling device that extends downwards from the elongated shaft. The mop head is attached adjacent to the bottom end of the elongated shaft above the rolling device. The mop head has a cleaning element. The mop head is movable between a non-rolling position and a rolling position. The non-rolling position positions the rolling device between the cleaning element and the elongated shaft. The rolling position allows the mop head to pivot such that the rolling device is contactable with a surface to be cleaned. A locking mechanism allows the mop head to be locked in the non-rolling position.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present application relates generally to a mop, more particularly it relates to a mop having a hinged mop head.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the invention. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Large mops can be cumbersome to use as they become quite heavy when wet. This makes the process of mopping a large area tiresome and can result in strains or injuries to the people utilizing the mop. It is also common to have different styles of mops for different purposes. A large push type mop is often not well suited to use on stairs. This can slow the process of cleaning significantly as user's are required to swap out mops for different purposes.

BRIEF SUMMARY

There is provided a mop that has an elongated shaft and a mop head. The elongated shaft has a top end and a bottom end. The bottom end has a rolling device that extends downwards from the elongated shaft. The mop head is attached adjacent to the bottom end of the elongated shaft above the rolling device. The mop head has a cleaning element. The mop head is movable between a non-rolling position and a rolling position. The non-rolling position places the rolling device between the cleaning element and the elongated shaft. The rolling position allows the mop head to pivot such that the rolling device is contactable with a surface to be cleaned. A locking mechanism is provided for locking the mop head in the non-rolling position.

In one embodiment, the rolling device is a caster or wheel. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that other suitable rolling devices may be used.

In one embodiment, the mop head has an elongated shaft attachment for attaching to the elongated shaft and a mop attachment.

In one embodiment, the elongated shaft attachment of the mop head has an arcuate shape.

In one embodiment, the locking mechanism is a slidable sleeve positioned on the elongated shaft. The slidable sleeve has a catch for holding the mop head when the mop head is in the non-rolling position.

In one embodiment, the catch is a pair of slits extending upwards from a bottom edge of the slidable sleeve. The pair of slits is sized such that at least a portion of the mop head is slidably engageable within the pair of slits.

In another embodiment, the locking mechanism is a latch positioned adjacent a top of the mop head for latching the mop head to the elongated shaft. The latch having a pair of movable arms positionable on either side of the shaft such that the mop head is held in the non-rolling position.

In another embodiment, the locking mechanism is a removable dowel insertable through at least one locking aperture positioned adjacent a top of the mop head and an elongated shaft aperture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which references are made to the following drawings, in which numerical references denote like parts. The drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiments shown.

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a mop with a slidable sleeve locking mechanism in the rolling position.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of a mop with a slidable sleeve locking mechanism in the non-rolling position.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of a mop with a slidable sleeve locking mechanism in the non-rolling position.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a mop with a slidable sleeve locking mechanism in the rolling position.

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of a mop with a latch locking mechanism in the rolling position.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of a mop with a latch locking mechanism in the non-rolling position.

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of a mop with a dowel locking mechanism in the non-rolling position.

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view of a mop with a dowel locking mechanism in the rolling position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A mop, generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 1, a mop 10 has an elongated shaft 12 and a mop head 14. Elongated shaft 12 has a top end 16 and a bottom end 18. Bottom end 18 has a rolling device 20 that extends downwards from the elongated shaft. Rolling device 20 may be a caster, a wheel or any other suitable rolling device known to a person skilled in the art. In the embodiment shown, rolling device 20 is positioned in vertical alignment with elongated shaft 12 along vertical axis 22. Mop head 14 is attached to elongated shaft 12 adjacent to bottom end 18 above rolling device 20. Mop head 14 has a cleaning element 31 such as a sponge, cloth pad, textile ropes or any other cleaning element 31 known to a person skilled in the art. Mop head 14 is attached to elongated shaft 12 such that it is movable between a non-rolling position and a rolling position. Referring to FIG. 3, in the non-rolling position, rolling device 20 is positioned between cleaning elements 31 attached to mop head 14 and elongated shaft 12. In the non-rolling position it is not possible for rolling device 20 to contact a surface to be cleaned when elongated shaft 12 is vertical in orientation. Referring to FIG. 4, in the rolling position, mop head 14 pivots in relation to elongated shaft 12 such that rolling device is contactable with a surface to be cleaned. In the rolling position, mop head 14 may be pivoted into a horizontal orientation while elongated shaft 12 may be in a vertical orientation. Mop head 14 may pivot in more than one direction. A locking mechanism 24 is provided for locking mop head 14 in the non-rolling position.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, mop head 14 has an elongated shaft attachment end 26 and a mop attachment end 28. When in the non-rolling position, rolling device 20 is positioned between elongated shaft attachment end 26 and mop attachment end 28 in a central aperture 30. In the embodiment shown, elongated shaft attachment end 26 has an arcuate shape, however it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that different shapes may also be acceptable. In the embodiment shown, mop attachment end 28 allows for the replacement of cleaning elements 31 when they become worn. Screws 33 and nuts 35 allow for cleaning element 31 to be replaced as needed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 4, locking mechanism 24 is a slidable sleeve 32 positioned on elongated shaft 12. Referring to FIG. 3, slidabe sleeve 32 has a catch 34 for holding mop head 14 in the non-rolling position. In the embodiment shown, catch 34 is shown as a pair of slits 36 extending upwards from a bottom edge of slidable sleeve 32. Pair of slits 36 is sized such that at least a portion of mop head 14 is slidably engageable within pair of slits 36.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, locking mechanism 24 is a latch 38 positioned adjacent a top 40 of mop head 14 for latching mop head 14 to elongated shaft 12. Latch 38 has a pair of movable arms 42 positionable on either side of elongated shaft 12 such that mop head 14 is held in the non-rolling position. A latch lock 44 may also be included to hold latch 38 in a locked position.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, locking mechanism 24 is a removable dowel 46 insertable through locking apertures 48 positioned adjacent top 40 of mop head 14 and an elongated shaft aperture 50. Locking apertures 48 and elongated shaft aperture 50 are aligned to allow for insertion and removal of removable dowel 46.

Any use herein of any terms describing an interaction between elements is not meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between the subject elements, and may also include indirect interaction between the elements such as through secondary or intermediary structure unless specifically stated otherwise.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent that changes may be made to the illustrative embodiments, while falling within the scope of the invention. As such, the scope of the following claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples and drawings described above, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A mop, comprising: an elongated shaft having a top end and a bottom end, the bottom end having a rolling device extending downwards from the elongated shaft; a mop head being attached adjacent to the bottom end of the elongated shaft above the rolling device, the mop head having cleaning elements, the mop head being movable between a non-rolling position and a rolling position, the non-rolling position having the rolling device being positioned between the cleaning elements and the elongated shaft, the rolling position allowing the mop head to pivot such that the rolling device is contactable with a surface to be cleaned; a locking mechanism for locking the mop head in the non-rolling position.
 2. The mop of claim 1 wherein the rolling device is a caster.
 3. The mop of claim 1 wherein the rolling device is a wheel.
 4. The mop of claim 1 wherein the mop head has an elongated shaft attachment for attaching to the elongated shaft and a mop attachment.
 5. The mop of claim 4 wherein the elongated shaft attachment of the mop head has an arcuate shape.
 6. The mop of claim 1 wherein the locking mechanism is a slidable sleeve positioned on the elongated shaft, the slidable sleeve having a catch for holding the mop head when the mop head is in the non-rolling position.
 7. The mop of claim 6 wherein the catch is a pair of slits extending upwards from a bottom edge of the slidable sleeve, the pair of slits being sized such that at least a portion of the mop head is slidably engageable within the pair of slits.
 8. The mop of claim 1 wherein the locking mechanism is a latch positioned adjacent a top of the mop head for latching the mop head to the elongated shaft, the latch having a pair of movable arms positionable on either side of the shaft such that the mop head is held in the non-rolling position.
 9. The mop of claim 1 wherein the locking mechanism is a removable dowel insertable through at least one locking aperture positioned adjacent a top of the mop head and an elongated shaft aperture. 